The day after Christmas Amy Xu, Kuan Teoh and I headed up north to Rainbow Resort for a few days of skiing, racing and clinics.  Friday was a 15k time trial, Saturday was an all day skate clinic and Sunday was a long slow classic ski.  The skiing was great  at Rainbow which was good because the Cities got rain on Friday and everything is iced over.  I am back home for 2 days before I leave for Nationals in Alaska… seems like I just got done packing and now I am packing again.  I called my team and the report from Alaska is as follows… cold and dark.  It doesn’t matter, I am ready to race!

Trails at Rainbow Resort.  If you are ever looking for a great resort for winter or summer activities check out www.rainbowresort.com.

Kuan and myself by the start area.

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy and crucial to my skiing. On December 26th, I am heading up to Rainbow Resort to help with a ski camp. Then, on December 31st I am flying to Alaska for U.S. Nationals. I feel ready and well trained and prepared to race fast!

This time of year is always busy for skiers, many local races are starting and soon it will be Marathon season. However, it is important to remember the reason for this holiday season and it is a time to be thankful.

I will be celebrating my first Christmas as a Dad…and I can’t think of any greater gift!

My family and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and may God Bless you all in the New Year!

I have been busy this week, watching Grant, looking for a job and ski training.  If you or someone you know is looking to fill an engineering position or any position that you think I may be interested in please take a look at my resume or send it along.  Ideally I could find a position that would be semi-flexible around training and racing.

matt-liebsch-resume

US nationals is getting close and I am feeling good.  Hopefully I can have some great races up in Alaska.  This weekend I may jump into a local race.

Skiing in the Cities is starting to get better.  The rain last weekend hurt but it has snowed a little and the trails are getting in better shape.  Over the next few days we are suppose to get some more snow but then the temps are going to drop.  Its going to be a white and cold for Christmas!

Well, I was second by only a few seconds because I was skiing sloppy.  Sunday was a tough 10k classic race in a blizzard.  It was hard to ski with good form in those kind of conditions.  Getting good kick was tricky as the snow was closer to freezing than I would like it.  My teammate Andre was 3rd and we crossed the finish line very close as he was my 15sec man (interval start race).  I never caught him but at the finish we both were certain we had skied very poorly and finished outside the top10.  I was very surprised to get a voice message on the way home saying I finished 2nd.  My Dad andI left the UP very quick to avoid as much of the weather as possible… that meant not staying around for awards… although we did have time to stop at Little Caesar’s for a $5 Hot-and-Ready pizza.

http://www.itiming.com/raceresults/471-sun_cl_ovl_results.pdf